The world of digital marketing can be hard to break into, but with the right pre-planning, you can create a successful campaign that can take your business to new heights. The first step is to decide your budget, audience, and the results you want to achieve. Then you have to plan how you are going to reach your customer. There are many different advertising platforms all with different pros and cons. Let’s dive into some of the most popular platforms.
Google Ads Well-rounded if Optimized
Pros:
Google Ads is well-rounded and allows you to put your product or business right in front of the customer on Google Search, YouTube, or the Google display network. When advertising on Google, you can easily reach people in the shopping stage and are more likely to convert. It is also the hardest platform to waste your money on because Google has built-in features to help track purchases, phone calls, and store visits that come from your ad campaigns. The features make it possible to track your results with more than just clicks and impressions and see exactly how many sales/customers you are generating per dollar spent.
Cons:
The biggest issue we see when we start managing a client's Google Ads account is they are so poorly optimized that they aren’t generating any results for the money they are putting in. If your Google Ads account is set up by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing, you probably don’t have a phone call or purchase tracking setup, and you are wasting money showing your ad to the wrong people. A good way to tell if your account is properly set up is to check your campaign's optimization score. If your optimization score is below 70% it is not going to bring in good results.
Another issue we have seen with many Google Ads accounts we manage is that they are either spending way too much or way too little. We have seen accounts spend thousands of dollars a month over what is effective, and at a certain point, your ads will start to give you diminishing results. On the other hand, we have seen some businesses that could double their monthly sales if they were to raise their budgets when they have increased demand.
Finding the sweet spot on your budget can take a couple of months of adjusting and changing strategies, but once you find that equilibrium point, it will be worth it.
Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Down to Earth but Hard to Measure
Pros:
Meta is great for reaching real people who might not yet know they want your product. Almost everyone has a Facebook or Instagram account, and the advanced age and interest targeting Meta provides helps you hit the perfect customer. Facebook is especially useful for services and small businesses looking to grow in their community. It helps raise awareness for a cause, event, or service targeted towards locals. Meta is great for smaller businesses that might only want to spend $50-$100 a month on advertising. Usually, a bunch of smaller frequent campaigns or boosted posts can see more growth than one big expensive one.
Cons:
Meta does not offer as detailed purchase and phone call tracking as Google, and sometimes it is hard to tell what results are coming from Meta or somewhere else. Meta is always changing. If you primarily advertise on Facebook or Instagram the layout of the site and options available to advertisers are constantly changing. Meta is not likely to approve your ad the first time you submit it and requires you to submit your ad multiple times to be approved, which can cause delays.
LinkedIn Extremely Targeted, but High Cost
Pros:
On LinkedIn, you can target the most specific out of any platform we have worked with so far. You can target people in specific industries, job titles, and levels of experience. This works great if you're offering an educational program like certificate training, college courses, or something that would help someone further their career. LinkedIn is also a good platform for business-to-business advertising because you can target high-earning individuals in specific industries you usually sell to. People on LinkedIn tend to be educated business professionals instead of casting a wider net, like on Google or Meta.
Cons:
The minimum spend to start advertising on LinkedIn is $500 a month and has the highest cost per click out of any other platform we've mentioned. Many smaller businesses cannot afford to advertise on LinkedIn because of the high cost compared to other platforms. Another issue is that it isn’t great for all types of businesses. You wouldn’t advertise on LinkedIn cars you were selling or a new nail salon you were opening. Those types of campaigns would be much more effective somewhere else with a lower cost.
LinkedIn is 9/10 too expensive or not relevant enough for most businesses, but the few businesses that fit the criteria and have the budget to back it up can flourish and see great results.
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